EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES AND STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Abstract

Educational inequalities constitute one of the main challenges faced by contemporary education systems, manifesting themselves in different dimensions, such as access to education, student retention, and the quality of the teaching-learning process. These inequalities are strongly influenced by socioeconomic, cultural, regional, and institutional factors, highlighting the need for research that deepens the understanding of these disparities and contributes to the construction of effective strategies aimed at promoting equity in education. In this context, this article aims to analyze, through a literature review, the main theoretical approaches related to educational inequalities, as well as to identify strategies and practices that favor the promotion of equity in the educational field. The research is characterized as qualitative and exploratory in nature, based on the analysis of 14 works, including 8 scientific articles and 6 books, published between 1996 and 2025, selected from databases such as Google Scholar and SciELO, based on criteria of thematic relevance, timeliness, and scientific rigor. The data analysis process was carried out using thematic analysis techniques, allowing the organization of content into central axes related to the factors that underpin educational inequalities and the strategies proposed to overcome them. The results indicate that educational inequalities are structural in nature and are directly associated with the socioeconomic conditions of students, regional disparities, the quality of public policies, and the pedagogical practices adopted in educational institutions. Furthermore, the importance of teacher training, educational inclusion, and the critical use of digital technologies as fundamental elements for building a more equitable education is highlighted. It is concluded that promoting educational equity requires the implementation of integrated, continuous, and contextualized actions capable of articulating different dimensions of the educational process, contributing to the reduction of inequalities and the construction of a more just, inclusive, and socially committed education.